President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has invited the leaders of Organised Labour, including the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), for a meeting on the minimum wage.
The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, July 11, 2024, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
A close source within the labour leadership, who requested anonymity, disclosed this on Wednesday.
The President is expected to address the ₦62,000 proposal from the government and private sector side and the ₦250,000 demand from Organised Labour.
This Thursday meeting follows a month after the President’s Democracy Day speech on June 12, 2024, where he announced that an executive bill on the new national minimum wage would soon be presented to the National Assembly.
On June 25, the Federal Executive Council (FEC), chaired by the President, deferred consideration of the new minimum wage memo to allow for further stakeholder engagement.
Two days later, Tinubu and Vice President Kassim Shettima, during the 141st National Economic Council (NEC) meeting, discussed the new minimum wage with governors from the 36 states and ministers.
Negotiations for a new minimum wage have been ongoing since the Minimum Wage Act of 2019, which set ₦30,000 as the minimum wage, expired in April 2024. The Act mandates a review every five years to adapt to current economic conditions.
In January, President Tinubu established a Tripartite Committee to negotiate a new minimum wage, involving Organised Labour, and representatives from federal and state governments, and the private sector.
Despite efforts, the committee failed to agree on a new wage, prompting labour to commence an indefinite strike on June 3, 2024, disrupting operations across airports, hospitals, the national grid, banks, and legislative complexes.
The strike was temporarily suspended on June 4, 2024, following the President’s assurances that a wage exceeding ₦60,000 was being considered. Subsequently, TUC and NLC leaders resumed discussions with government and private sector representatives.
